On
Athlete Storytelling
Repeatable Content Franchise
“Quick on feet. Light on mind.” Ethos

“Athletes Adapt”

The insight:

Change is the only constant.

It’s in the athletes DNA to adapt to changing circumstances. In the moment when conditions do’t go our way on the field of play, or over time as injury or an unforeseen global pandemic sidelines goals and rewrites our paths.

The POV:

Adapt.
We’re athletes - it’s what we do.

#AthletesAdapt is an open and honest series about change, voiced by those who were successfully managing the obstacles of sport and life that come with the territory and were put to the test of tests by the global pandemic.

On the cusp of moving 6 months+ of campaign concepting, strategy and creative development into pre-production for On’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic campaign, the pandemic hit and I took a big hit.

Instead of sitting around trying control factors I could not, I saw opportunity and insight. Actualizing my nimble, "quick on feet. light on mind.” solutions first ethos, I chose not to focus on what I was losing, but see what could be gained.

Pivoting from long lead, big budget, big media Olympic thinking to figure it out and make it happen brass tacks storytelling I tapped the athlete mindset and created an in the moment storytelling platform and activation plan that would provide inspiration and enablement content for On’s global community when the rest of the big brand and agency world was in a hierarchical and process heavy stand-still.

The timely, insightful, resonant content I created for On became indispensable to their engagement throughout the most challenging early months of the pandemic lock-down.

The Content:
10, 1-2 minute, story-driven, athlete-narrated films of resiliency, control, adversity, and changing to circumstances On’s elite athletes have faced over their careers.

The Production:
Over a 2-week period I researched and conducted 10 x 2 hour athlete insights interviews. Recording the video calls I was able to go back and identify powerful storylines of adaptation and piece together a script for each. In parallel I sourced existing footage and photos from On, race organisers, and the athletes’s own archives before bringing in my editor (Lynn Bousquet) to complete the process.

My system of quick, creative thinking, efficiency in process, and trust from my client, helped elevate On above the uncontrollable that the pandemic brought on before their competitors could. But more importantly, On was able to inspire, engage, and simply be there for their community during the unprecedented and challenge time.

Above:
#AthletesAdapt | A storytelling platform to help inspire the community when they needed the nudge most.
-10 x Inspiration Films
-2 Weeks prep and production delivered more than 3 months of content when the rest of the sports world was hemming and hawing.

Below:
On x Balboa: The enablement compent of Athletes Adapt platform to help an active, but at home community getter done - together - with the help of fitness professionals.

Index

“Athletes Adapt”

Change is the only constant.

Adapt. We’re athletes - it’s what we do.

Instead of sitting around trying control factors I could not, I saw opportunity and insight. Actualizing my nimble, "quick on feet. light on mind.” solutions first ethos, I chose not to focus on what I was losing, but see what could be gained.

Adapt.
We’re athletes - it’s what we do.